Providence officers who defied vaccination, threatened with dismissal, remain for now

The night came and went without any firings of Providence police officers who have defied the city's vaccination mandate. But that's no guarantee that they will not be terminated.

The Providence City Council appeared poised Friday night to pass an ordinance to prevent more than 2% of police officers from being fired without a council-approved staffing plan. But after arranging an emergency meeting and attracting media attention, the council referred the ordinance to its finance committee.

Under the ordinance, in all other city departments, no more than 20% of employees could be fired without a council-approved staffing plan.

Even if the council ultimately passes the ordinance, it will need to pass it a second time before it goes to Mayor Jorge Elorza's desk, at which point "he absolutely plans to veto it," his office said.

A priority on vaccination, not discipline

If the council were to override the veto, a two-thirds majority, or 10 votes, would be required, which it does not appear have at the moment. On Friday's agenda, only eight names were listed with the ordinance, plus Councilman John Igliozzi. However, Councilman John Goncalves said some of the votes were being peeled.

Councilwoman Helen Anthony was the only member to comment on the ordinance before the meeting ended, offering her support for the city's mandate, and calling attention to the state's "unprecedented health-care crisis."

"Instead of stoking conflict, let’s work together," she said.

Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune had raised her hand to comment, though the meeting was adjourned, and Igliozzi said he did not see her hand, so she was unable to speak.

Hours before the council meeting, Elorza's office emphasized that the city's "priority is to get employees vaccinated, not to discipline," slamming Igliozzi's approach.

"This is about public health," the Elorza administration said. "The council president is manufacturing panic, and his politically motivated comments and actions are deterring people who may have been considering getting their vaccine from doing so."

The city gave employees until the close of business Friday to either provide proof of vaccination or request an exemption with medical forms.

"The city's Human Resources Department will need all of next week to review information submitted by employees and to follow up or receive clarifying information with anyone whose forms were not submitted," Elorza's office said. "We will share numbers when all of our data is verified."

The mayor's office noted that the law department has not reviewed the council's ordinance.

More: Providence City Council president attempts to limit police firings over vaccination mandate

More: Providence could lose 80 police officers over vaccine mandate. What city leaders are doing

'One step at a time'

Police Chief Col. Hugh T. Clements, Jr. said no officers would be terminated by the end of Friday. But he acknowledged that he does not know how the coming days will look. Asked whether he would be able to cope with a staffing shortage, Clements said, "We’re going to wait. We’re going to take this one step at a time."

Clements added that Elorza's administration is working with the Police Department, its staff members and the police union.

In a statement, the department said it "wants every employee on the job while vaccinated and therefore is encouraging all employees to get vaccinated."

Ahead of Friday's vote, 32 researchers and epidemiologists at Brown University's School of Public Health wrote to the council in support of the city's mandate, stating that vaccination is "especially important for city employees who are interacting with the community as part of their daily responsibilities."

"Carving out an exception for some city employees puts the public’s safety at risk," the letter said. It went on to add that COVID-19 was the leading cause of death among members of U.S. law-enforcement agencies in 2021, according to preliminary data reported by the National Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum.

Concluding, the letter said, "While the City of Providence cannot mandate that every resident take the vaccine, their employees should model the behavior of what it means to be a good citizen; and that includes getting vaccinated to protect our community and those most at risk."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: No firings of Providence police yet, though vaccine mandate in place